A Great Catch by Lorna Seilstad Page A

delivered a dissertation that would make Olivia DeSoto think twice about insulting anyone she cared about. Sure, her words were sugary sweet, but the implication that Carter was somehow a failure because he didn’t work at the bank came through all the same. Someone needed to teach Olivia some manners.
    Wait a minute. Did she just defend Carter? Hadn’t she herself referred to him as a boy playing games? When had those feelings changed?
    The truth struck her and spread like a creeping vine inside. Her feelings for Carter had not only taken seed, they’d taken root. The warmth spread through her, and she realized his presence seemed to be the only sunlight the feelings needed to grow.
    Carter stopped at the door dividing the foyer and theater and handed the usher their tickets. The man bowed slightly. “This way, sir.”
    Aunt Millie huffed behind them as they hurried down the aisle. “Is Mrs. DeSoto one of your suffragists?”
    “I’m afraid so.” Emily released a slow breath. The last thing she wanted to do was let anger ruin the evening.
    The usher directed them toward the rows in front of the gilded stage. “You have two seats in row four and two in row eight.”
    “Thank you.” Carter waited until the usher departed. “I believe Mrs. DeSoto suffers from the green-eyed monster.”
    Aunt Millie applauded. “Shakespeare’s Othello , Act 3. ‘Beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock.’”
    “Her eyes were blue.” Aunt Ethel scowled. “And her manners were insufferable.”
    Emily let her hand drop from Carter’s elbow. “You think she’s jealous? Of what?”
    “You really don’t know, do you?” He chuckled and held up the four tickets, two in each hand. “So, would you ladies like the seats in row four or eight? I’m sorry I couldn’t secure four side by side at such a late date.”
    “I think we should take the ones behind.” Aunt Ethel studied the two areas. “That way we can properly chaperone.”
    Aunt Millie slipped two tickets from Carter’s hand. “We’ll take the front so you two can have some privacy. Come along, Ethel.”
    Emily waited until her grumbling aunt departed before she giggled. “You have truly been a good sport about all this. First them, and now Olivia.”
    His gold-flecked eyes bore into hers, melting her concerns. “Emily, it’s all worth it.”
    She swallowed. “Maybe we should sit down.”
    With a sweep of his arm toward their seats, he smiled. “After you.”

    Slipping into the plush velvet seat beside Emily, Carter removed the playbill from the inside pocket of his tailcoat and opened it. He glanced at Emily, who appeared to be nervously fiddling with her program, and his heart warmed.
    How refreshing she was. So many of the young women he’d met used their wiles to promote their personal agendas. They had their futures all neatly wrapped up with a wedding ring–sized bow.
    But not Emily. And while she looked lovely in her purple sleeveless gown and long white gloves drawn up to her elbows, it was her unassuming nature that captivated him. She seemed to have no idea why Olivia DeSoto was jealous of her, but he certainly did. Emily faced everything with an infectious passion.
    His lips curved upward. If he hadn’t dragged her away from Olivia, he might have seen that passion released full force.
    “Carter, why did you pick this play? There are two other theaters in Council Bluffs and more in Omaha. Not to mention the shows at the lake.”
    “You don’t like Ibsen?”
    “No, I do. The point is, I don’t think you will.”
    He closed his playbill. “Do you remember what tonight is about?”
    “Being mortified by my aunts in public?” Her eyes sparkled in the chandelier’s light.
    “No, it’s about us discovering our similarities.”
    “And you think a play addressing how unfairly a woman is treated in the home will do that?”
    The lights dimmed and the crowd quieted. As the heavy velvet curtains spilled open, he